


Extra Credit

by RandomReader13



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily Feels, Batfamily Shenanigans, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Bruce is a good dad, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Families of Choice, Family Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Found Families, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Tim hates school, Timeline What Timeline, What even is a timeline, batfam, fite me, kinda crack??, rated for language, the cat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 13:45:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18181376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomReader13/pseuds/RandomReader13
Summary: Tim is bored during a test. Shenanigans ensue.





	Extra Credit

**Author's Note:**

> Have all the fluff!

Tim tapped his pencil restlessly, watching the clock that he swore was moving slower than usual. Someone shifted in the row behind him, another kid stifled a cough. Tim rubbed the bridge of his nose and wondered if it was possible to spontaneously combust from sheer boredom. He looked down at his completed and flipped over test, then back at the clock. Seventeen minutes before he could leave. Seventeen minutes of sitting in useless silence and stillness. He could be doing something actually important! Like working on the kidnapping case Gordon had handed them two days ago. Kids disappearing without a trace. All from middle-class families that were relatively well off but in no way capable of paying a large ransom. There was no connection other than the social class; both boys and girls had gone missing, a smattering of ages between sixteen and seven, black, Hispanic, white, Asian, mixed. Tim frowned, tapping his pencil faster. It didn’t make any sense. Everyone in Gotham knew not to trust anyone. There was one out-of-towner but most of the missing kids were natives. And, sure, they’d be more likely to trust someone than, say, a kid from the Narrows, but no one really let their guard down. Except maybe the trust fund brats. And yes, Tim was including himself in that distinction. He knew full well that he had exactly no high ground when it came to naively wandering into dangerous situations. But that didn’t apply to this case because none of the missing kids were rich!

He sighed and doodled a circle on his paper. There had to be a reason these kids were disappearing without a fight. They could be being knocked unconscious but even then there would have been some sign, especially with the older kids who were more physically able to fight back. Tim glanced up at the clock. Fifteen minutes left. He resisted the urge to bash his head into his desk. Propping his chin in one hand, he continued doodling, eyes glazing over as he sorted through all the information they had. The disappearances had started about three weeks ago. They hadn’t been alerted sooner because they all seemed to be separate events. The first kidnapping had been twelve-year-old Becky Yahura. Two days later, Geoffry Carvil was taken. Two days after that, Hazel Elion. Ten kids total and another one due to be taken today. Taken from a wide range, each about a mile away from the others. He squinted, trying to remember the map they had been plotting the locations on. All about the same distance apart...except for one cluster.

Tim frowned and looked down at his paper. In the middle of some random squiggles, the circle he drew stared back. Tim narrowed his eyes and sketched a quick grid in the circle, copying the locations as best as he could from memory and labeling them with the kids’ initials. Why would the distances be so uniform, except for that one cluster of four? Was it random? After working in Gotham for so long, he had a hard time believing that. Everything was a pattern, everyone had a gimmick. Tim sighed as he hit a blank. Ten minutes left. He stared back into space, chewing on his bottom lip. Who would middle-class kids trust other kids wouldn’t? There had to be a reason the kidnapper targeted those kids. Why not homeless ones? Or poor kids from the Narrows? So far there had been no ransom demands. And even if there had been, it wasn’t like the kids who went missing were wealthy enough to make the kidnapper rich. Tim absent-mindedly began drawing on his paper again, connecting the dots he had drawn. Why middle-class? Why not rich if it was for money? Why not poor if it were for trafficking? What did middle-class have going for it?

“Five minutes everybody,” Ms. Gavern announced. “Make sure your name is on it, please!” Tim languidly flipped over his test, making sure his name was in the top right corner. He flipped it back over and froze, staring at the picture. His eyes widened, mind racing, connecting the dots.

“Oh my God,” he whispered.

“Time’s up everybody! Pencils down!” Ms. Gavern came down the aisle, collecting tests and Tim handed his in, mind firmly elsewhere.  He stashed his pencils back in his bag and drummed his fingers on the desk, foot tapping as he watched Ms. Gavern finally head back to her desk. “Alright, thank you everyone, have a good weekend!” she said. There was a mad rush as everyone grabbed their bags and the bell rang. Tim raced out of the room, barely remembering to stop by his locker and grab his other books before dashing for the exit. Alfred was waiting outside like he always was, and Tim darted forward, pulling open the back door of the town car and diving in before the man could do more than open his own door.

“Master Tim,” Alfred objected.

“I figured it out, Alf!” he yelled excitedly. “I gotta tell Bruce! Step on it!”

“I will do no such thing, Master Tim,” Alfred said, closing his door again. “Certainly not until you have your seat belt on.”

Tim dumped his backpack on the floor and strapped himself in. “I solved the kidnapping case, Alf!”

“Well done, Master Tim. I’m sure Master Bruce will be thrilled to hear about it _after_ we have arrived safely home.” He directed a meaningful look in the rearview mirror. Tim slumped in his seat.

“But Alf,” he whined.

The man ignored him, calmly starting the car and pulling away from the curb. “We shall be home soon, Master Tim.”

Tim sighed.

The second the car came to a stop in the driveway, Tim bolted out and up the front steps. He barged inside, school shoes squeaking as he turned the corner. He pushed the clock hands to the right places and waited impatiently for the door to open. Bruce was bench-pressing and didn’t pause as Tim yelled his name.

“Bruce! Bruce,” he grinned as he ran up to the man. “I figured it out!”

“What am I, chopped liver?” Jason asked from where he was spotting Bruce.

“Figured what out?” Bruce grunted, muscles bunching as he brought the weights down again.

“The kidnapping case!”

“Seriously. Right here.”

“Really.” Bruce stuck the barbell back on the rack, Jason making sure it was secure.

“Yes!”

“When exactly did you have time to do that?” Bruce wiped his face with a towel.

“I finished my test early and had time to think about it!”

“Not too early I hope.” Bruce raised an eyebrow. “You need to do well on it.”

Tim waved a hand. “Yeah, not too early, I did great.”

Bruce’s other eyebrow joined the first but he let it go. “So what did you figure out?”

“It’s the pattern! I knew there had to be one, there’s always one! And his choice of target was so bizarre. Why go for middle-class? You can’t get ransom like with rich kids, and you don’t get the low-profile like with street kids.”

“And what did you find?” Bruce grabbed his water bottle and took a swig as he headed over to the computer. Tim got there first and slid into the chair. Bruce frowned down at him but he ignored it.

“Every crook has a gimmick of some kind,” he said, pulling up the map of targets. “I started connecting the dots. Literally.” A few clicks of his mouse and the lines were drawn. “I was just sketching out my ideas and it hit me. Who is likely to be trusted most by middle-class kids?” He hit enter and an image was superimposed over the grid.

“The police,” Bruce breathed.

Tim beamed up at him. “It was this cluster at the top that didn’t make sense. That’s what made me think there might be a literal pattern. So I traced the dots and bam! There it is! And if I’m right,” he tapped a few keys and four more dots appeared, “and he sticks to the current pattern, our guy will probably be hitting one of these areas.”

“Good work, Tim,” Bruce said, smiling a rare smile at him.

Tim flushed and looked down. “Thanks.”

“Your teacher didn’t notice you drawing? Or, ya know, getting out a piece of paper?” Jason asked from behind him. Tim blinked.

“Uh…” He thought back. Why _hadn’t_ his teacher noticed anything? It hit him like a brick to the face and he blanched, staring at the screen with wide eyes. Oh no. Oh God please no. “Nope,” he said, struggling to keep his voice calm. “Didn’t notice a thing!” Oh no no no. He was so dead. He was absolutely, positively fucked. He stood up, letting Bruce reclaim his seat. “I’m gonna just...go get changed.” He grabbed his backpack from where he had dropped it and headed for the stairs at a totally unsuspicious pace. He made it through the Cave and up the stairs safely and was just about to escape the study too when a big arm was slung around his shoulders.

“So. What’d you do?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talkin’ about how you looked like a ghost for a couple seconds back there. Right when I asked how your teacher wouldn’t notice you graphing out crime.” Jason’s voice was deceptively light, but his eyes were sharp.

“Trick of the light,” Tim declared, ducking out from under Jason’s arm and trying out his subtle speedwalking skills.

“Nice try, brat,” his older brother said, catching him in a headlock. Damn his unfairly long limbs. “Tell me what’s really going on.”

“It’s nothing,” Tim said, pushing at Jason’s arms. The older teen responded by slowly tightening his grip. Tim gasped for breath and whacked at Jason’s stupidly big biceps. “Get off,” he wheezed.

“Tell me what’s goin’ on and I will,” Jason said cheerily. Tim was pretty sure this is what it felt like to be crushed by a python.

“Ok, _fine_ , let me _go_ and I’ll tell you!” It was either definitely die via Jason or maybe die via Bruce and Tim preferred his chances with Bruce. Jason loosened his grip but didn’t let go entirely because he was annoyingly smart at times and Tim gasped in a breath.

“So?”

Tim grimaced. “I...might have been graphing it out on the back of my test.”

There was a beat of silence. Tim braced himself for his impending doom. No way Jason would keep this quiet. He didn’t even _like_ him all that much. Jason’s chest moved and Tim closed his eyes, waiting for the shout that would condemn him.

Jason chuckled. Tim opened his eyes, twisting his neck to stare incredulously at the older boy. “You-” Jason cut himself off, laughing properly now. “You actually- I can’t believe this.” He let go of Tim and the boy took several steps back, eying Jason carefully. “You, Mr. ‘follow procedure’, put vigilante information on a _test_? Oh my God. Oh my fucking God.”

Tim flushed. “If high school let us leave after we were done like colleges do this wouldn’t be an issue,” he grumbled. Jason just laughed harder.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever heard. Oh my God. You are so dead, Baby Bird.”

“I’m going to _fix_ it,” Tim hissed.

Jason raised an eyebrow, infuriating smirk firmly in place. “Yeah? How’re you gonna do that?”

“I’m going to get my test back, Obviously.” Tim turned on his heel and marched out of the study. He could hear Jason hurrying to catch up.

“Oh, is that all?”

“ _Yes_.”

“What, in the middle of the day?”

Tim halted, fists clenched by his sides. Jason leaned his weight to one side, hand propped on hip. “Of course not,” Tim gritted through his teeth. “I’ll do it tonight.”

“Without the big man noticing?”

“I’ll manage.”

“And what if I decide to tell him about your little...slip up?”

Tim turned to glare at him. “Do that, and you won’t be able to wear any of your helmets ever again.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed at the cryptic threat. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Tim was just getting ready to either jump at Jason or run as fast as possible in the opposite direction when someone knocked at the door. Tim glanced at it, then back at Jason, who had straightened out of his slightly-predatory stance. After he was sure Jason wasn’t going to try anything, Tim opened the door. Steph glared at him.

“What the hell, Tim? We were supposed to meet up after school!”

Promises of ice cream and skateboarding chose that moment to appear in his memory. Tim winced. “Sorry, Steph. I solved a case and I came back here as fast as possible to tell Bruce.”

She did not look impressed. “Well that’s great for you two weirdos, but some of us actually _like_ our civilian lives.”

“Ooh snap.”

“Shut up Jason, you don’t even have a civilian life.”

Jason narrowed his eyes and pointed at Steph. “I will let that slide because you’re in the club.” He pointed at Tim. “Don’t get any ideas unless you want to _join_ the club.”

“So what case did you crack that was oh so important?” Steph asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“Kidnapping.”

“He figured it out by writing theories on the back of his test and then _handing it in_ ,” Jason said. Tim turned to look at him in horror. The teenager just grinned evilly.

“Oh my God, are you serious?” Steph looked both horrified and gleeful, a combination Tim did not think possible before today.

“Yep,” Jason sang, dragging Tim into a crushing sidehug that was more like a pin. “And now we’re planning on stealing it back.”

“It’s not stealing,” Tim grumbled, trying to break free.

“Denial isn’t a good color on you.”

“Wait,” Tim paused in his struggles. “Did you say ‘we’?”

“Hell yeah! This is the most interesting thing that’s happened in weeks!”

“You fought Firefly three days ago.”

Jason waved him off. “You in, Steph?”

“Absolutely!”

“Wait a second-”

Steph silenced him with a look. “This can make up for you forgetting our plans,” she said sweetly.

Tim hung his head. It was useless to resist. “Fiiiine.”

Jason high-fived Steph. “Let go breaking and entering!”

***

“This is a terrible idea,” Tim hissed into his comm.

“This was _your_ idea.”

“Shut the fuck up, both of you. You’re breaking my concentration,” Jason said from where he hung upside-down off the side of the building.

“Aren’t you, like, the lockpicker of the family?” Steph asked, idly kicking a boot at the roof. “What’s taking so long.”

“I swear to God, Batgirl, if you don’t shut up-”

“You’ll what? Kill me? Been there, done that. Be a bit more creative.”

Jason was silent. Steph pumped her fist in victory. Tim rolled his eyes. “Seriously, though, Hood. It’s been almost five minutes.”

“Oh I unlocked it three minutes ago, I was just waiting to see how long it took you to say something.”

Jason’s raspy chuckle turned to a yelp as Tim untethered the wire he was hanging from. Tim and Steph grappled down to the window. Jason was glaring from inside, arms folded. “ _Rude_.”

“You’ll live.”

“Was that a death joke, Replacement?” Jason demanded, following close on Tim’s heels as he peered into the hallway. “If that was a death joke-”

“We’re clear.” Tim ghosted out into the hallway, creeping along in the shadows of the lockers. Steph was right behind him. Jason mumbled something under his breath but was smart enough not to make any loud noises. The three of them carefully made their way towards the offices, boots silent on linoleum floors. Tim held up a hand and they froze, eyes darting back and forth, all senes strained to the maximum.

There! A quiet squeaking, a wheel perpetually loose. “It’s the janitor,” Tim mouthed. The other two nodded. Tim jerked his hand upward, palm towards the ceiling, and jumped for a doorframe. He flipped himself up until his elbows were braced against the small strip of doorframe, his feet planted against the roof. Steph was across the hallway, crouching awkwardly on her own doorframe. Tim looked back down. Jason was nowhere to be seen. His eyes widened behind his mask. How could he have just disappeared? There was literally nowhere to go that quickly! He scanned the hall again then couldn’t think about it anymore because the janitor turned the corner and he had to focus on being utterly still and silent. The man pushed his squeaky cart under them, barely pausing to give the windows a cursory swipe with a cloth. Tim pulled in a slow, silent breath. The doorframe was jutting into his forearms even with the Kevlar sleeves and he knew that in a minute or two his arms would start to shake. He was strong, but not even Dick could hold this awkward, inverted position for long.

Finally, the man disappeared around the corner. Tim exhaled slowly and flipped his legs back towards the ground, landing in a crouch. Steph landed beside him, fingertips brushing the ground for balance. Jason walked out of a classroom. He grinned at Tim’s stare. “Work smarter, not harder,” he said, tapping his nose and winking. He looked at Steph. “Who’s the best lockpicker again?” She whacked his shoulder. He grinned. “Don’t be bitter, Blondie. Not everyone can be as smart as me.”

What were the odds that they’d notice if he just left? Tim turned and strode down the hallway. Not very good, as it turned out, because a few seconds later they were beside him again.

“What’s the matter, Baby Bird?” Jason whispered playfully. “Scared you’re going to get caught?”

“Shut _up_.”

Jason pitched his voice up a few octaves. “Hey B, just thought you should know that I gave away all of our identities because I was bored in a test! Lol, no b, right? Happens to the best of us!”

“Did you just say ‘lol’ out loud?” Steph asked. “And ‘no b’?”

“It’s ironic.”

“It’s pathetic is what it is.”

“Both of you be _quiet_ ,” Tim hissed, rounding on them. “Can you take this seriously for _one second_?! This could be disastrous for us if she already saw my test! The cops work with us now but do you think they will once they have a face to put to the cape? No! They’ll bring back the warrants for our arrest, we’ll either have to run or fight back, all the Rogues will know how and when to target us, and we’ll never be safe ever again!”

Steph and Jason stared at him, wide-eyed. “Jeez, Tim. Fine, we’ll take it seriously, okay? Don’t worry.” Jason patted him on the shoulder. “No one’s going to have to go into hiding.” He marched down the hall and Tim stared after him, shoulders slumped.

“Tim?” Steph touched his arm. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Tim shook himself, straightening his shoulders. “Let’s just get this over with.”

***

“It’s not here.”

“What do you mean it’s not here?”

Tim glared up at them. “I _mean_ ,” he closed the filing cabinet harder than he probably should have. “It’s _not_. _Here_.”

Steph rifled through the papers scattered on the desk faster. “It has to be here _somewhere_.”

Tim sat back, one hand pressing to his forehead. “It’s the weekend. She probably took them home to grade.”

Jason glanced out the door, then back at him. “Well, shit.”

Tim pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes until he saw stars. “We failed. I ruined everything.”

“Hey,” Jason slapped him upside the head. “We don’t just give up. Get up.”

“What’s the point.” Tim yelped as a big hand grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet.

“Let’s go, Blondie.” Jason dragged Tim out into the hallway. Steph hurriedly straightened the piles of papers and ran after them. Jason didn’t let go of Tim until they were a few blocks away. “Ok. Where’s your teacher live?”

“What?”

“Where. Does. Your. Teacher. Live?”

“I don’t know!”

“Sure you do! You background check everyone, even the cashier at the grocery store!”

“I don’t- I mean-”

“Come on, Tim. Just look it up.” Steph put her hands on her hips.

“Stop brooding and start working or I swear to God I will throw you off of this roof.”

“I have a grapple.” Tim made a face at Jason but pulled up his gauntlet computer. “She lives about fifteen minutes away.” They looked at their own computers as he forwarded the address.

“Let’s go then.” Jason and Steph jumped off the roof, heading to where they left their bikes. Tim rubbed at his face. They were right. What was he thinking? He couldn’t just give up! This was too important! He ran for the edge of the roof, focus firmly set on the mission. A black figure popped up in front of him. Tim shrieked in surprise and backpedaled, falling over.

A familiar black mask stared down at him. “Cass,” he breathed. “You scared the shit outta me!”

“What doing?” It never stopped being unnerving, hearing her voice without seeing the mask around her mouth move. He didn’t know how she managed it.

“Retrieving some important intel.”

“Help?”

“Uh, I’m good, thanks. Hood and Batgirl are helping already.”

She didn’t move but he could _feel_ the skeptical stare.

“Really,” he insisted.

“Help,” she declared. And that was that. No one could change Cass’s mind once she made it up. No one.

Tim sighed and accepted her hand to pull him to his feet. “Okay, fine, but this is on the downlow, okay?”

“Secret.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

Tim readied his grapple. “Thanks. Hood and Batgirl are this way.”

Jason grinned when he saw Cass. “Hey, little sister!”

She poked his cheek. “Big sister.”

Jason raised an eyebrow and very pointedly patted her head, which was almost a foot below his own. “Nah.” She poked harder and he swatted her hand away.

Tim ignored their ridiculousness and got on his bike. “Let’s go, guys. We don’t have much time.”

“You gotta ride?” Jason asked. Cass shook her head. He patted the back of his bike invitingly. Cass tilted her head at him and then walked over to Steph’s bike.

“Little brother.”

“Oh yeah, I win!” Steph cheered, starting her bike.

Jason snorted. “Real mature!” He pulled on his helmet, the voice modulator making him sound kind of like a robot. “Race you there.”

“Stealth, guys,” Tim reminded them through the comms. He pulled out of the alley and gunned the engine.

“B? Where did you come from?” Jason called mockingly.

“Very funny.”

With their bikes, the fifteen-minute trip only took eight. They pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building. “What floor?” Steph asked.

“Fourth.”

It didn’t take long to locate and break into the correct room. Tim slid inside and carefully stepped over a little lego...thing on the floor. Steph followed him, boots whisper-soft on the carpet. He took a few steps into the room and was heading over to the kitchen when he heard a crunch. He winced, looking back. Jason was frozen, one foot raised. Lego pieces stuck out from under his other boot. “Really,” Tim mouthed. Jason flipped him off. No one seemed to have noticed the slight noise, so they all moved further into the apartment.

Tim’s heart gave a relieved thump as he spotted the bag his teacher used on the kitchen table. He hurried over and opened it carefully, digging through the papers inside. The other three crowded around. Tim’s mouth was dry as he flipped through the pages. “Come on, come on,” he breathed. He went through them once. Then again. Then he dug through all the pockets of the bag. He finally stopped, elbows on the table and face buried in his hands. “It’s not here,” he moaned. There was a moment of silence as they all wondered what the hell they were supposed to do now.

“Bedroom,” Cass said. Tim peeked at her from between his fingers.

“Yeah, maybe she grades before she falls asleep, huh?” Steph agreed. “It’s worth a look.”

Jason raised his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m quiet but I’m not _that_ quiet.”

“Yeah, I vote Cass.”

They all looked at Tim. He stared back. “Fuck it,” he decided. “You good with that, Cass?” She gave him a thumbs up.

They spread out, each going to one of the three closed doors in the hallway. “Bathroom,” Jason whispered. Tim opened his door a crack and peeked through before closing it.

“Kid’s room.”

“We got it,” Steph whispered unnecessarily. Tim, Steph, and Jason held their breaths as Cass eased the door open. The room was partially illuminated by the moon. The lone figure in the bed didn’t move aside from breathing. Tim relaxed slightly, the fear of opening the door to come face-to-face with his teacher abating, and turned his attention to scanning the room. There, on the bedside table! A stack of paper and her big red pen. He pointed it out and Cass opened the door further, slipping inside. Everyone froze as the cat sitting on the foot of the bed came into view. Its eyes gleamed. Cass slowly relaxed her body and edged forward. The cat watched her. Tim held on to Steph’s arm, only noticing how tight his grip was when she flicked him. Cass’s footsteps were absolutely silent and even though Tim knew exactly where she was, her body melted into the shadows like a wraith. The slight rustle of papers was the only noise. Cass held up a test triumphantly and Tim sagged in relief. Steph fist-bumped Jason.

Cass was almost to the door when the cat suddenly yowled. Tim was jerked back by Jason and Steph pulled the door shut, with only a crack left for them to look through. Tim pressed his eye to the crack. Cass had dropped to the floor and rolled close to the bed. This was good as long as Ms. Gavern didn’t get up. Speaking of, the woman had sat up and was blinking around the room. Tim wondered how recently she had gone to sleep because the bags under her eyes were huge. Tim could feel his heart constricting as the woman rubbed her eye. “Stupid cat,” she muttered, laying back down.

They all waited a good ten minutes before moving again. Cass slithered to the door, Steph eased it closed, Tim resisted the urge to kiss his test -- mercifully ungraded -- and the four of them regrouped in the kitchen.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Jason whispered.

Tim went to agree but froze. “Oh shit.” A chorus of quiet ‘what?’s. He pinched the bridge of his nose as best he could with his mask in the way. “I need this grade.”

“Excuse me,” Jason said flatly.

“I need it. Bruce is waiting to see it. If I don’t pass this, I’ll have to retake the class-”

“For fuck’s sake, Timothy.”

“I can’t fail this! If I’m missing the last page, I’ll fail!”

“What exactly are we supposed to do about that? It’s either fail the test or be _exposed_.”

Tim looked around wildly. “Wait a second!” He grabbed the bag. “I think I remember seeing some extra tests in here!”

Jason facepalmed. “Oh my God,” Steph moaned. Cass tilted her head. Tim glared at them all.

“Give me five minutes, I’ll just copy my answers.” He did just that, ignoring the others’ hissed complaints and pointed comments about time and how much of it they had left before Bruce would inevitably notice their silence.

“Okay, done. Do we need to-”

“Just leave it in the bag, she’ll think she missed it!” Steph shoved Tim towards the window. “Come on, come on, come on!”

“Okay, okay!”

Cass was the first to slip out the window. Steph had one leg out when a noise made them freeze. Tim slowly looked back. The cat was staring at them.

“Shit,” Steph breathed.

“Just go,” Jason hissed. He waved a hand at the cat. “Shoo!” It walked closer. Jason growled and took a step back. Steph was out the window. “Move it, Baby Bird.” Tim turned and anchored his grapple. Jason yelped. “Fuck!” The cat screamed. Tim dove out the window, sliding faster than was safe to the ground. Jason landed beside him a second later. “Move, move, move!” he panted. They took off to the next block over where their bikes were hidden.

“What _happened_?” Tim demanded, jumping on his bike.

“Stupid cat ran under my feet,” Jason said, clasping arms with Cass and pulling her onto his bike. “Stepped on its tail.”

“For fuck’s sake, Jason!” Steph said, gunning her engine.

“Shut the fuck up and drive!”

***

“We did it.”

“Yes we did.”

“And you won’t fail your test, huh Timbo.”

“Unless you did really badly the first time around.”

“Shut up, Steph.”

“...What should we do now?”

“I have an idea.” Tim held out his hand towards Jason. “Gotta light?”

Jason grinned, reaching into one of his pockets. “I like the way you’re thinking, Baby Bird.”

Tim took the lighter and flicked it on, holding the test above it. He lit the corner and they all watched as the paper curled and blackened. “We completed the mission. Our identities are safe,” he said, dropping the paper as the fire licked towards his fingers.

“Go team five foot five!” Steph yelled.

Jason scoffed. “Excuse me?”

“You can be an honorary member,” she told him. “Because you would be one of us if the Lazarus Pit hadn’t been involved.” Jason spluttered. “Don’t even bother,” Steph said, grinning evilly. “I’ve seen the pictures. You were just adorably tiny, weren’t you!”

“That’s it!” Jason dashed at Steph and she laughed, racing across the rooftops. Tim and Cass watched.

“Well, that’s done,” he sighed. She patted his shoulder.

“Good job.” Then she poked him hard on the forehead with two fingers. “Not again.”

“Never again,” he agreed, rubbing the spot.

She nodded, satisfied. “Patrol?” she asked after a few minutes of watching Jason and Steph’s feud.

“Sure.”

***

Tim grinned as he bounded up the stairs to the manor. Bruce was in the living room, reading something on his tablet. Tim stuck the paper he was holding in front of the man’s nose, the bright red 97 in the corner gleaming in the sun. Bruce took it and Tim did a front walkover over the back of the couch, landing beside Bruce and folding his hands, doing his best not to fidget. Bruce took his time looking over the papers and Tim’s foot started tapping.

“Well done, Tim,” Bruce said, ruffling his hair. Tim ducked and jumped up from the couch, grinning.

“We should do something to celebrate!”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smile still lingering on the corners of his mouth. “We should celebrate you not failing?”

Tim pouted at him.

Bruce chuckled. “What do you have in mind?”

“We should watch a movie!”

“Which one?”

“The Princess Bride,” Tim said dramatically.

Bruce quirked a little grin. “Alright then.” He picked up his tablet. “Good job, Tim.”

“Thanks,” Tim said. He turned and started to leave -- he had to text Steph and tell her to come over tonight -- but froze when he heard Bruce’s next words.

“Oh and Tim.” He looked back slowly. Bruce had glanced back at him, eyes still dancing with amusement. ”Maybe skip the extra credit next time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Thanks for reading! Comments literally give me life so if you liked it/hated it/it made you feel like unhinging your jaw and swallowing Scott Lobdell whole, let me know! :D


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